Idaho Transgenders Celebrate Birth Certificate Ruling

Boise, Idaho (AP) - A federal judge on Monday ruled in favor of transgenders being allowed to change their biological sex on birth certificates. People who identify as transgender can now file to have their birth certificates altered.

U.S. Magistrate Judge Candy Dale stated after the ruling that the Idaho Department of Health and Welfare was in violation of the U.S. Constitution for banning transgenders from changing their birth sex on the documents, according to the Associated Press. The 14th Amendment's Equal Protection Clause, which was the key principle in the landmark 1954 Brown vs Board of Education case, prohibits denial of such actions within state jurisdiction.

Beginning April 6, 2018, transgenders born in the state of Idaho can file to have such changes made. Kansas, Ohio and Tennessee still ban revisions to official state birth documents.

In 2017, two women gained national attention by filing lawsuits against the state of Idaho, maintaining they were being harassed due to the fact their Idaho identifications didn't match the sex they had decided to transition to.